Ugandan HIV-Positive Orphans Saved by Hadassah Global Outreach

At the forefront of global medicine in saving the lives of children with HIV/AIDS, the Hadassah Medical Organization has extended its outreach to orphans on the remote island of Bussi in Uganda.

The initiative is under the umbrella of Hadassah’s HIV/AIDS outreach project, entitled ART-Joy-Love, founded eight years ago by Prof. Dan Engelhard, head of Hadassah’s Pediatric AIDS Center and Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit.Prof. Engelhard’s vision was to provide not only treatment for the children, but also joy and love. Therefore, an important part of his medical team are medical clowns and volunteers.

Until the establishment of the Bussi Medical Center, which Prof. Engelhard helped to launch, residents of the nearby islands received no health services. When they were in need of treatment, they were forced to travel to hospitals in Kampala or Entebbe, many hours away by car.

Now, patients like four-year-old Alineo are treated at the Bussi Center. Alineo’s mother is sick with AIDS and unable to care for him, so his grandmother took him to the Center for treatment and his life was saved.

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